Corner cupboard, made for the Omega Workshops, English, 1915-6

Summary Description
Small triangular painted wooden corner cupboard decorated with painted tulips in a vase and signed with the Omega workshops symbol.

Decorative Scheme
The cabinet is painted on the top and front face. The rails and uprights are divided into strips, partly reeded, and painted with bands of green and yellow, and black on the reeded strips. The façade has two uprights, painted grey, flanking within which the door. These uprights are fixed to two structural uprights, painted red and set at a 45 degree angle from the front. The door is painted with the image of a vase of red tulips in an ambiguous background. The painting is intentionally crude in design with a shallow perspective and rough finish. The image has a grey background which plays with the picture plane suggesting areas of light and shadow and a wider background of mottled yellow. The picture is rendered using thick oil paint applied directly onto the wooden surface. The top is painted in plain; probably the cupboard was intended to be hung at a height at which the top would not be seen red and was probably not intended to be seen. The wood of the non-painted surfaces (the back and inside) has been stained.

Structure and Materials
The softwood frame is crudely constructed using butt joints secured with screws. The door is of framed panel construction with the rails tenoned to the uprights. The plain painted top is nailed to the front uprights and two backboards. A single shelf inside sits in grooves on the sides of the frame and is secured with nails.

Part of the frame around the painted panel is reeded. Aside from this small decorative element, the woodwork is plain and functions purely as a base for the painted design. As it is intended to hang on a wall no attention has been paid to balance and the cabinet tips forward when the door is open.

Bequeathed by Mrs F.C.O.Speyer

This small triangular cabinet formed part of a suite of bedroom furniture made by the Omega worshops for the London flat of Lalla Vandervelde. The art critic and painter Roger Fry founded the Omega Workshops in 1913. Lalla Vandervelde was a friend of Fry's and the wife of the Belgian ambassador. Several other pieces thought to have been made by Omega for her flat are now in the V&A collection: two wardrobes (CIRC 271-1975 and CIRC. 272:1&2-1975), a bed headboard and footboard (CIRC.270&A-1975), a carpet (CIRC. 665-1969) and another larger corner cupboard (CIRC.273B/1&2-1975)). On their acquisition to the circulation department in 1975 the pieces were considered to be 'among the most important surviving furniture from the workshops.' Carol Hogben, then deputy keeper of the department noted, 'There is no doubt that the ensemble formed one of Roger Fry's most ambitious undertakings, and deserves preservation for its enjoyment and admiration by posterity.'

The cupboard is seen, in photographs attached to the curatorial file, sitting on top of a larger corner cupboard (CIRC.273B/1&2-1975), acquired at the same time. It is possible this is how they were arranged in Vandervelde's flat.

A note on the acquisition file attributes the painting of the furniture from this suite to Edward Wolfe. Wolfe was introduced to Roger Fry by Omega artist Nina Hamnett and worked for the workshops from early summer 1918 until January 1919 when he became seriously ill with influenza. As most Omega works are signed with just the omega symbol is difficult to attribute pieces to a single artist. If this corner cupboard was painted by Edward Wolfe the dating of the piece to1916 is questionable.

In 1912 the artist and critic Roger Fry wrote to Bernard Shaw, 'I am intending to start a workshop for decorative and applied art'; a year later he founded the Omega Workshops. He was inspired both by William Morris and by French Post-Impressionist painting. Artists from the Bloomsbury Group designed furniture, pottery, glass, textiles and entire schemes of interior decoration for the Workshops. Much of the furniture, such as this cupboard, was painted in a style inspired by folk art, as well as by new developments in painting.

Omega furniture was either designed by members of the workshops to be made by professional furniture makers, or bought second-hand to paint and resell. In keeping with the painting tradition, Fry believed that designs should not be too mechanical and should show evidence of the artist's hand. The workshops aimed to 'preserve the freedom and spontaneity of the original drawing'.

One of the aims of the workshops was to try to remove the perceived division between the fine and decorative arts. Omega employed fine artists working anonymously, their work signed only by the Greek letter Omega. Affiliates of the Workshop were salaried, but were expected to spend only 3 half days a week in the group studio and to devote the rest of their time to fine art projects. Consequently the Workshop output was very varied, and reflected current trends in art.

Despite considerable success amongst artistic circles, the workshops were short-lived, and a closing sale was held in June 1919, just 6 years after they opened.

This small triangular cabinet formed part of a suite of bedroom furniture made by the Omega worshops for the London flat of Lala Vandervelde. The art critic and painter Roger Fry founded the Omega Workshops in 1913. One of the aims of the workshops was to try to remove the perceived division between the fine and decorative arts. Much of the furniture, such as this cupboard, was painted in a style inspired by folk art, as well as by new developments in painting. Omega employed fine artists from the Bloomsbury Group working anonymously. Their work was signed only by the Greek letter Omega.

The cupboard is simply constructed with the painted tulip design applied directly onto the soft wood ground. It may have been designed to be placed on top of the larger corner cupboard (CIRC.273B/1&2-1975) in Vaudervelde's flat.

CIRC.273A/1-1975